Earlier this month, Michigan state Sen. Joanne Emmons, R-Big Rapids, proposed an idea to reimburse students for classes in which they were unable to learn because they were unable to understand either their professor or teaching assistant. The policy — which has not yet been offered as legislation — would initially be enacted in all public universities in Michigan, followed by other Michigan universities, and would allow for a refund to be given any time before the last six weeks of the semester.
The idea was created as a response to increasing education costs — Emmons believes as educational costs increase, there should be more emphasis on making sure students are getting the education they’re paying for.
Ohio State — which for years has been subject to countless losses because of cuts to education funding — is no stranger to implementing higher tuition costs, and should — for the welfare of the students — give this idea some serious thought.
One of the most common impediments to learning for OSU students is the inability to understand some of the international teaching assistants and professors. This should come as no surprise, since a majority of OSU students are originally from Ohio and other states in the Midwest and are accustomed to hearing “Midwest English” — the standard in American English because it lacks accent and contains very few regional alterations — their entire lives.
If a student used to hearing “normal” English comes to OSU and finds for the first time he or she must depend on a teaching assistant or professor with a heavy accent or who speaks with broken English, will become frustrated, especially if he or she is completely unable to adapt to these different forms of English.
Though a teacher’s ability to verbally communicate does not matter so much in fields like history or literature — in which all material presented is almost always found in paralleling assigned text written in clear English — the ability to communicate abstract principles in math and science fields is absolutely vital. Most science and math books fall short of being able to explain the information, and are instead useful only as formula lists.
In any of these cases where understanding the teacher is critical to understanding the course, there is no reason a refund should be denied to a student, especially in cases of sequences in which information learned in early courses becomes the base for the rest of the major.
Of course, it would seem this course of action would lend itself to the university shying away from using international teachers. Critics argue this would lead to less diversity, and the loss of a great deal of knowledge most American professors might not have. But while these international teachers do have some experience our domestics might not, there is little use to having such teachers if they are not able to communicate this wealth of knowledge to students.
Though diversity of knowledge is essential to a good education, so is understanding the material of the courses students take. In the long run, there should be stricter regulations on how understandable international students must be. But until this can be regulated, students should have an option out so they do not waste increasing amounts of money on something not contributing to their education.
